Berlin Rookie Test standouts Gabriele Minì and Kush Maini share insights after impressive runs
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Berlin Rookie Test, held at the Tempelhof Airport Circuit on Monday, was a surefire success. A strong contingent of 22 rookie drivers showcased their potential on track, with several emerging talents setting competitive lap times.
Italian driver Gabriele Minì topped both sessions and set the fastest lap of the day at 57.643 seconds. Mahindra Racing's Kush Maini and TAG Heuer Porsche's Ayhancan Güven followed closely behind Minì in the two sessions, respectively.
Top performers Gabriele Minì and Kush Maini reflect on Berlin Rookie Test
The highly competitive test saw all 22 drivers separated by a mere 1.5 seconds, as teams ramped up their development programs with rookie talent. Collectively, more than 1,000 laps were completed over the course of the day.
Sharing a few pictures from Berlin, Gabriele Minì wrote on Instagram, 'Fastest in Berlin. Very happy about the Rookie Test: a productive day with 96 laps covered, multiple race simulations, quali runs, and we set the overall fastest time of the whole #BerlinEPrix weekend. Thanks @nismo for this year's second opportunity after FP0 in Jeddah and for these brilliant days together.'
Indian driver Kush Maini, fresh off his historic FIA Formula 2 win, continued to impress in Mahindra's GEN3 Evo machine by securing the second-fastest time of the day.
He appeared pleased with his performance in both sessions, finishing second in the morning and third in the afternoon.
Reflecting on his experience with Mahindra Racing, he said, 'I think it was a very strong day overall. We always made progress, and the team gathered some good data for London. Obviously, it's a different track, so we tested a lot of things. In the morning, we focused on 350kW runs, and in the afternoon, more on race runs.
Whatever the run, we were always in the top three and really fast, so a good step was made. Whenever I get into this car, I leave with a smile on my face.
'
Jak Crawford and Abbi Pulling share their Berlin Rookie Test experience
American F2 race winner Jak Crawford also made a notable rookie return, claiming third place in the morning session while driving for Andretti. Sharing his thoughts, he said, 'It was a great day testing in Berlin.
I feel like we really got the opportunity to try a lot of setup items and gain a solid understanding of everything. It felt good to be back in the car, and I was able to get up to speed right from the start, which really helped us begin working on things early in the session.
Hopefully, the work pays off and the team can deliver a strong result in London.'
Abbi Pulling, one of the women drivers in the Berlin Rookie Test, drove for Nissan. She looked content with the day's progress and said, 'It was a great day—very productive—and we achieved everything the team needed. I'm happy to take on this new role with the Nissan Formula E Team, as it's created a new pathway for me to experience machinery at the World Championship level. The morning involved a lot of runs focused on race settings and data gathering, and in the afternoon we did more push laps, testing several important items ahead of the London finale.
'
Also Read:
Berlin Rookie Test 2025 results: Nissan's Gabriele Minì leads, Mahindra's impresses in both sessions
She expressed satisfaction with the improvements made during the day but added that she was still striving for more. She appeared pleased with her performance, considering how competitive this year's rookie line-up was.
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
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